Ch-ch-ch-changes- Part III

We started the building process in June of 2011. Candlelight homes was our builder. We initially decided upon a 2 story floorplan, but it didnt have enough square footage on the main floor for the neighborhood we were building in, so we ended up going with a 4,000 sq ft rambler (2,000 on the main, 2,000 in the basement) instead. I really wanted a 2 story but with everything we had going on, this is how the chips fell.

We enrolled the kids in the school they would be attending when the house was complete (Saratoga Shores Elementary) and started attending that ward as well (Saratoga Springs 5th ward). We didnt want them to adjust to the move, just to have to be jerked out of their new school and ward and put into another new one.

Savannah made friends quickly, although she struggled being away from the twins, Maycie and Taylie, who have been her best friends since they were 18 months old. While she had new friends, it just wasnt the same. Often she would tell me she wanted to just stay home, and not play with anyone that day. Sometimes she would cry about how much she missed the girls. I cried too. I missed my friends, and I missed the girls myself. It just wasnt the same.

Mason made a good friend, in our building, and in typical Mason fashion, one friend was enough. He seemed to have a harder time with the move since he is less outgoing than his sister. Starting over is always rough for Mason and I worried about him a lot.

The Js have each other, and they were happy as could be.

Our condos have a pool, so we spent a lot of time over the summer swimming. The weather in Utah was a nice change from Idaho. We were able to spend day after day outside with no wind and no cold. For someone like me, who is extremely sensitive to the weather, it made the summer more enjoyable than ever!

The neighbors from our house neighborhood began inviting us to neighborhood parties and get togethers and we were able to get to know them rather quickly. Our neighborhood is full of other active couples. We couldn't have picked a neighborhood more fitting for us. We immediately started biking with 2 other couples from our ward, the Fotheringhams and the Harris'. That, probably more than any one thing, made it start to feel like home here. I began riding with Mari, Jana and Amy in the mornings and we rode with the couples on Saturdays. Dan and I began running together to keep up our training, which was a lot of fun. Being away from our families and friends, and in a new place, we spent more than the usual amount of family time together, which was a surprise bonus :)

Dan and I raced all summer again. The first weekend of June, we met up with our We-Tri crew in Payson for the Salem Spring Triathlon. It was so great to see them all again after being away. We had a great race. In July, we joined them again in Idaho for the Spudman Olympic Triathlon. That is my favorite race and I did better this year than ever before. The highlight, though, was racing with my husband, and seeing all my friends again. We had such an enjoyable race. In August, we were hoping to go up for RUSH in Rexburg, but we weren't able to make the trip. Instead, at the very last minute, I decided to race the Saratoga Springs Tri with my friends Amy Hart and Ja-Ann Wolsey. It was such a fun race and I was grateful I had found friends down here to continue racing with. 

A lot of other things happened over the summer. I'm hoping to put the most important ones in blogs of their own, so hopefully this is just a brief summary of what's gone down over the past 6 months or so.